Blower



p 4, 1935 w. E. TRUMPLER 2,015,502

BLOWER Filed Sept. 28, 1933 INVENTOR.

Wm 'am/ETaw r Nca 14/ BY 2 V A H15 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 24, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BLOWER William E. Trumpler, Easton,

Ingersoll-Rand Company,

Pa., assignor to Jersey City, N. J., a

2 Claims.

This invention relates to pumping devices, but more particularly to centrifugal blowers of the multi-stage type.

It is an object of the invention to render an intermediate stage impeller or impellers ineffective as a means for increasing the pressure of the fluid being pumped and to afford substantially direct communication between the active impellers preceding and succeeding the inactive impellers.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

In the drawing accompanying this specification and forming a part thereof and in which similar reference numerals refer to similar parts,

Figure l is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a portion of a centrifugal blower having the invention applied thereto,

Figure 2 is a transverse View taken through Figure l on the line 2-2 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows, and

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the valve, constructed in accordance with the practice of the invention, in position to prevent the passage of fluid through an impeller to the difiusor chamber associated therewith.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, l8 designates, in general, a centrifugal blower comprising a casing I! which may consist of upper and lower sections !2 and I3, respectively. As is customary, the casing sections may be joined in the longitudinal plane and suitably secured together in any well known manner.

Extending longitudinally of the casing H is a shaft l4 upon which are mounted a series of impellers, three being shown in the present instance and designated in the order of progression of the stages as, I5, I6 and II. The impeller, which may be keyed to the shaft l4, are held in suitably spaced relation with respect to each other by spacers l9 disposed upon the shaft l4. Between the impellers, and supported by the casing H, are diaphragms 23 which are so spaced with respect to each other as to form, therebetween, diffusor chambers 2| through which the fluid pumped by the impellers passes into guideways 22 extending through the diaphragms -29 and leading to the inlet or eye of a succeeding stage impeller.

In accordance with the practice of the invention, means are provided for blanking-off the outlet openings of an intermediate stage impeller or impellers and at the same time to provide an open path for the fluid pumped by a preceding stage impeller to an impeller succeeding the impeller or impellers rendered ineffective To this end an annular passage 23 is formed in an end wall of the diaphragm 20 adjacent the outlet opening of the impeller associated with the diffusor chamber of which the diaphragm constitutes a bounding surface. In an intermediate wall of the diaphragm is a port or passage 24 to afford direct communication between the guideway 22 adjacent thereto and the passage 23.

The outermost bounding surface of the passage 23 is beveled to form a seat 25 for a valve 26 whereby the passage 23 is controlled. As a preferred form of construction the valve 26 is of ring-shape having an outer tapered surface 21 to seat against the seat 25, and on the inner surface of the valve 26 are spiral teeth or threads 28 for engagement with threads 29 on the periphery of a ring 30 affixed to the diaphragm 20. The valve 26 may consist of a single piece, or of a pair of half sections abutting each other at their ends 20 so that upon actuation of a section the other section will follow its movement both for closing and opening the passage 23.

On the side of the valve 26 adjacent a space or chamber 3! lying between the walls containing the passages 24 and 23 is 2. lug 32 having an aperture 33 for the accommodation of the end of a rod 34 whereby the valve 26 may be shifted to the various positions which it is intended to assume. The rod 34 extends to the exterior of the casing II and is provided, intermediate its ends, with a spherical enlargement 35 seated in a correspondingly shaped socket 36 in a cap 31 secured to the casing II, as by bolts 38.

The outermost end of the rod 34 is in the form of a sphere 39 engaged by the end of a link 40 having in its other end a socket 4| for the accommodation of a spherical end 42 of an actuating member 43. For convenience of illustration,

the actuating member 43 is shown as being in 40 the form of a screw threaded into a bearing 44 and having a hand wheel 45 whereby it may be rotated. Thus, upon rotation of the member 43 the rod 34 may be rocked to the full line and dotted positions shown in Figure 2 for actuatingthe valve 26, the pitch of the teeth 28 and 29 being such that by rocking the rod 34 to these positions the valve 26 may be moved laterally to the open and closed positions.

In practice whenever owing to well known causes, as for instance a low intake volume, the fluid being pumped tends to surge or pulsate through the blower the passage 23 may be opened by rotating the valve 26 and shifting it through the adjacent difiusor chamber to seat against the opposed diaphragm 20. In this way the adjacent impeller will be blanked-off from its associated diffusor chamber and the fluid being pumped by a preceding stage impeller may flow directly around the inactive impellers to a succeeding active stage impeller. In order to again cause the blower to operate normally the valve 26 is returned to its closed position, thus preventing the flow of fluid through the passages 24 and 23 and communicating the outlet openings of the associated impeller with its difi'usor chamber.

Likewise, in such cases as where the discharge output of the blower is employed for performing work requiring an initial or occasional heavy impulse and where fluid of lower pressure suffices normally, the valve 26 may be positioned to assure these pressure conditions, thus effecting a saving in the power required for operating the blower.

I claim:

1. A multi-stage blower, comprising a plurality of impellers, each having a diffuser chamber, a

diaphragm between adjacent impellers and having a passage to afford communication between a preceding and a succeeding diffusor chamber, and annular valve means threadedly engaged in the diaphragm for controlling the passage and to form a closure for the outlet openings of the impeller between such preceding and succeeding difiusor chambers.

2. A multi-stage blower, comprising a plurality of impellers, each having a diffusor chamber, a diaphragm between adjacent impellers and having a passage to afford communication between a preceding and a succeeding difiusor chamber, a ring valve threadedly connected to the diaphragm for movement longitudinally of the blower to control the passage and being shiftable into the said succeeding diffuser chamber to form a closure for the outlet openings of the impeller normally discharging into the succeeding diffusor 2 chamber.

WILLIAM E. TRUMPLER. 

